Phil Brown: Ajay Chhetri has got leadership qualities

The Englishman said that the home performances have not been bad for Hyderabad FC.

An embarrassing defeat against Kerala Blasters FC has added to Hyderabad FC's miseries in the Indian Super League. With just five points so far, the team are languishing at the bottom of the points table. Ahead of their next fixture against Chennaiyin FC, head coach Phil Brown spoke to the media. Defending has been a problem for Hyderabad this season. Their previous game saw Eelco Schattorie's Kerala Blasters hammering them for five goals, coming from behind to put Brown's men to the sword. [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] On Owen Coyle Phil Brown claimed they have been training hard and pointed to the fact that Chennaiyin are not having a great season themselves in terms of performance. "We do work hard on the training ground. Chennaiyin are not having the best of seasons. The manager changed. I know Owen Coyle very well. He is a very experienced manager in a number of countries. Now, he is finding out more about the ISL, the difficulties that the ISL brings. We are looking forward to the challenge," Brown told the media personnel. On Home Performance Hyderabad FC have registered only one victory in the league so far. The win came at home and the coach believes their home performances have not been that bad. "The home performanceS have not been that bad. We got tremendous support, even in the face  of adversity. I think we rewarded them with some good performances. Even the 1-0 against NorthEast (United), back to the game we should have won," the Phil Brown said.

Watch: Kerala Blasters 5-1 Hyderabad FC highlights

Phil Brown also said that anything could still happen and the most important thing is to ensure they win the next game. "Whoever plays against Chennaiyin has got to do the best for the club. They've got to do the best for the owners, they got to do the best for the badge, they got to do the best for the supporters. We have got seven games to make sure this season doesn’t die. If we win our next home game, who knows it can take you anywhere. You need to win the next game, that is the most important thing." On Ajay Chhetri Hyderabad FC signed young midfielder Ajay Chhetri on loan from Bengaluru FC, but the player is injured and will not be available for the fixture. However, Brown praised the player for his abilities in central midfield and for his leadership qualities. “The opportunity came along to sign Ajay Chhetri. The opportunity came along for a young lad, who was made available to us. He was brought to my attention by the chief scout. I jumped at the chance. In central midfield, he has got ability, he has got good leadership qualities. On the first day of training, he got injured. We have to try hard to get out of this,” the coach said. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="RELATED NEWS | ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS] Team News Defender Rafa Lopez Gomez suffered an injury during the team's clash against Kerala Blasters and could sit out. Young midfielder Chhetri is injured and will miss the game. The rest of the team is fit and is available for selection. Head-to-Head Hyderabad FC and Chennaiyin FC have met once in the history of the Indian Super League. The Chennai-based ISL outfit registered a 2-1 victory in that game, where all three goals were scored in injury-time. Predicted XI Broadcast The game will commence from 7:30 PM IST on Friday. The match will be telecast live on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD. It will also be available to stream on Hotstar and Jio TV.